Punishing Putin Just Makes Him Stronger

For Vladimir Putin, winter is coming. The “Crimea effect” that saw his approval ratings after he annexed a part of neighboring Ukraine in 2014 is certainly over, and the popularity boost he expected after Russia hosted the World Cup never really materialized. Instead, Russian politics are currently dominated by a slate of controversial pension reforms introduced by Putin’s government in response to a looming budget crisis. The proposed change, which would raise the retirement age from 60 to 65 for men and from 55 to 63 for women, was deeply unpopular. In some parts of the country, average life expectancy is . , Russia’s most reliable polling agency, 89 percent of Russians oppose the reform and only 8 percent support it. More than three million people signed a petition